I rechanneled my PDAF to the Calamity Fund

09 January 2014, Comment are Off
Statement of Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph G. Recto I rechanneled my PDAF to the Calamity Fund It is of public record that I requested that the P200 million in PDAF earmarked for my office be realigned to the Calamity Fund so it can be used to help Yolanda victims. When...

DBM must publicize agencies’ ‘promissory notes’

06 January 2014, Comment are Off
Now that the 2014 national budget has been signed into law, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto wants the Budget department to publicize the “promissory notes” agencies have issued in exchange for receiving taxpayer’s money. Among the “performance guarantees” embedded in the...

Tap P12-B road user’s tax for road safety

17 December 2013, Comment are Off
With one vehicular accident occurring every seven minutes in Metro Manila alone, a senator has called for the “wise utilization” of the portion of the multibillion-peso road user’s tax collection earmarked by law for road safety. By Senator Ralph G. Recto’s calculation, about...

Recto : P77-B coco levy is ‘low-hanging fruit’ that can help Yolanda victims

16 December 2013, Comment are Off
Government should treat the estimated P77 billion coco levy fund as “the low hanging fruit” that can be picked to help thousands of coconut farmers whose livelihood was “blown away by Yolanda,” Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto said today. Describing it as “frozen like a...

Recto seeks higher tax exemption ceiling for 13th month pay, Christmas bonuses

09 December 2013, Comment are Off
Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph G. Recto has filed a measure seeking to increase the cap imposed by law on the amount of 13th Month Pay, Christmas bonus and other benefits exempted from income tax. Present laws exclude the mandated 13th Month Pay and the Christmas bonus from...

Cash-for-work pushed in a region that had 2 M jobless,underemployed prior to ‘Yolanda’

26 November 2013, Comment are Off
Government should start rolling out acash-for-work program in Yolanda-devastated areas in order to “clear and clean”communities of debris and employ those whose jobs or livelihood werealso destroyed by the typhoon. “Disaster areas need a differentkind of emergency – emergency...

Budget must include funds for more C-130s

25 November 2013, Comment are Off
Government can doublethe number of its operational C-130 planes to six next year byearmarking P1.5 billion in the 2014 national budget. Senate President ProTempore Ralph G. Recto said the cost of refurbishing one mothballedC-130 in the Philippine Air Force inventory is P500...

Recto pushes for special insurance for rice, corn farmers

21 November 2013, Comment are Off
As agricultural damages continue to mount due to the recent onslaught of supertyphoon Yolanda, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto pushed for the immediate passage of a bill establishing a special insurance program for rice and corn farmers heavily hit by calamitie...